Poor Old Cambodia

I arrived in Phnom Phen the capital of Cambodia from Saigon in Vietnam after an 8 hour journey on the bus. The Cambodian countryside is lush and has many fields flooded not sure if they were rice paddies or not but it gets its fair share of the rains also. It had rained for a week straight now in the places I’d been. It didn’t rain once in 3 weeks in Ireland and never stops here this time of year, but it is 30 degs Celsius ever day too. You can tell even in the countryside of Cambodia that this a very poor country. Just by the homes on the side of the road that people live in. I was to find out that Pol Pots Khmer
Rouge regime was to ravage infrastructure here just 35 years ago. The country is essentially starting again. We even had to take a short ferry across a river as there is no bridge yet one was almost complete though.

Cambodian countryside and the almost complete bridge.

I took a tuk – tuk, local taxi which is basically a motorbike with a carriage to the backpacker area upon arrival in Phnom Phen. The driver spoke good English so I organized for him to pick me up the following morning for a ride to The Killing Fields and the S-21 prison. I wasn’t in the hostel 5 minutes and I met 4 people I had been on the slow boat from Laos with. Not sure what the chances of that were as I’d planned on staying in a different hostel but the tuk – tuk driver told me this place was better, I’m sure he got some
commission for bringing people there. I knew beer was on the horizon that evening. We went to a place called Zeppelin cafe which the owner spins vinyl rock songs . Although he has the records on the shelves he plays most of the songs off his laptop now. But it’s a cool place none the less and he has all the songs you can think of. Any song was played upon request. I left early enough as things were starting to get silly with my friends.
The tuk – tuk driver picked me up at 10 am on the dot.some people know where their bread and butter come from in these parts. The “Killing Fields” was the first place of interest about 15 km outside the city but took over an hour with the heavy traffic and bad roads. The place is a memorial sanctuary for the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge genocide regime that killed an estimated 3 million people in a 4 year span. You get a headset upon payment of the entrance fee which is narrated by a former prisoner of the regime. He has some chilling stories about what happened here. The killing tree is the most eerie as it was where babies heads where bashed before being thrown into the mass grave close by.

The killing tree and the children’s grave with over 450 bodies.
It’s more of a peaceful place today and not many people speak here in a mark of respect to the dead. There is a Pagoda that was erected with 4 stories of skulls that were excavated, although not all mass graves were. Some were left to rest in peace. Although in Buddhism if you didn’t have have a funeral you were said to be a lost soul forever,  hopefully this is not the case for these people.

The Pagoda with the skulls.
Sorry for this photo but I have to post this.
I was to go to the shooting range after that but it was again raining and didn’t seem appropriate. We went straight to the S-21 prison which is a former school turned torture house where the prisoners were which brought to be beaten and tortured until they confessed to crimes they didn’t commit. At least the journey back was quicker, the rain keeps the motorcyclist’s off the road.
The prison is an extremely sickening place. There are over 3000 photographs of former prisoners, mugshots and after torture etc. They keep a very detailed account of the people that passed through here, life stories, crimes accused of and confeessions. The photos really hit home.

The last 14 graves to be killed here at the S-21 prison.

The cells 2 metres by 1 Metre in size, they were not allowed to lay down inside them.

I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.
On the way out I met Bou Meng 1 of only 7 survivors from the prison. He is there everyday meeting visitors. Below is Bou Meng being addressed by “The Duch” the former commander of the prison and highest ranking official to be tried.

Bou Meng and I.

Mr Meng’s wife is still lost and is suspected of being 1 of the some 20’000 people buried at the killing fields. After torture they were brought to the fields for their death sentence.
   I went out and had some beers that night still having trouble dealing with the days experience.
Some photos of Phnom Phen below.

The Royal Palace, Phnom Phen, Cambodia.

Statue of former king
  The following day I took a bus to Siem Reap about a 7 hour journey.  It was the worst ride I’ve ever taken, about 5 hours of avoiding pot holes and banging my head on the roof. It was a dirt road and the main link between Cambodia’s two biggest cities. There is a boat but I was told it hadn’t run in 6 months due to low waters but if you are ever here check, it’s three and a half times more expensive but worth every penny I’d say or fly. I’d never do the road again. We arrived in Siem Reap in one piece somehow and early enough in the day. I headed straight for the nearest hostel. I was very hungry so I headed for the night market, most cities in Southeast Asia have them but this was the first in Cambodia. Food and beer are very cheap here even at restaurants.  Most people are here for the ancient Angkor Wat temple ruins. It is a 75 Sq Km complex of temples but has 3 major ones in Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and East Gabon. 2 days is not really enough here with the shear size of it plus the heat during the day is stifling and most people only do a few hours a day because of this. It is crammed with tourists year round so the city is awash with lively restaurants and bars one street is actually called Pub Street. I was waiting for a Scottish lad I’d met in Vietnam to get here to do the temples with so I hit Pub Street up as I wouldn’t be doing any sightseeing the following day. The food in Cambodia is excellent, not very spicy but much better than Vietnam and half the price.
I met up with Frasier and planned our assault on the temple ruins. The best deal is to go for sunset and buy the next days ticket then you get sunset for free. We decided to do this and went to Bakpheng temple just inside the complex my advice would be to avoid this and buy a 2 day pass or do sunrise and sunset on the same day. There were far too many people at this place and it was hard to see anything. There are about 17 sites here to watch sunset but this 1 is not recommended.  It is beautiful though. My photos are not good at night on the phone and don’t do the view any justice so I won’t post them. But sunrise at Angkor Wat is the thing to do so we were to meet the tuk – tuk driver at 4.45 am to catch it. He was late of course which was good for Frasier as it had been Halloween night and he stayed up until 2 am drinking but I would of done the same thing when I was his age of just  21. We had a German guy with is also who mentioned that Frasier had gotten lucky with a lady so it was all doom and gloom. We made it on time thankfully. The temple at sunrise is breathtaking with the sun rising in the background. 

Angkor Wat at sunrise.

   We hit all the main temples after that, East Gabon, Ta Phrom and the Royal Palace.  Ta Phrom is also called the Tomb Raider Temple as its where the Lara Croft movie was shot. It’s a mad place place with the massive tree roots  growing out of the ruins.

Did I mention the effing Chinese are everywhere here and you can’t get a photo in without them and they will not get out of the way.

That evening I was heading back to Bangkok, so I took a nap got some food had a few beers and took another nap, holidays are great you can nap when you want. I got a photo of the famous Vip Batman tuk tuk driver, I had planned to use him if I could of found him but I was a day late. I have read he is the best guide in Siem Reap for Angkor Wat. There is a Hard Rock Cafe here also and many people drive Lexus, Bmw and Hummers but the roads are shit and most people have nothing. You work out what goes on here for yourself.

I really like Cambodia and wish I had more time here or used those extra days in Vietnam here i didn’t get to the coast here which I’ve seen photos of and it has some spectacular islands. I could do another week or two here easy. The people are very friendly the food is great and beer is cheap. The infrastructure is on the mend here but will take time. Pol Pot almost destroyed everything thing here so they are starting a fresh. Hopefully it doesn’t happen too soon though so they won’t turn into the money grabbers there other Southeastern neighbors have become.
Bangkok and Southern Thailand post will be in a day or so and I will be caught up then. 
Bye for now, Gull.

Vietnam part 2

I flew from Hanoi to Da Nang in central Vietnam. I had planned to take the night trains buts cheaper to fly. The bus is cheapest but takes 20 hours and are designed for Asians not westerners to sleep. We headed straight to Hoi An about 18km away. It’s calles the ancient city in Vietnam. It’s very touristy, made up word but it works. Very friendly people there.
Myself and 2 German girls hired a day guide with mopeds to do the My Son Temple’s and the famous Hoi Van pass. It costs $22 each, not bad. Bikes included. The temples are about 45 km from Hoi An. The ride was great and the temple is not bad either.lol. much of it is in ruins but remains impressive.

My Son Temple’s. Vietnam
After that we headed for the Hoi Van pass and it’s incredible coastline about 150 km away. Long drive but no one was complaining, until about 2 hrs later when your ass begins to hurt. We got to the top with spectacular views of Da Nang one side and the pass on the other.

Top of th Hoi Van Pass, Vietnam

The guide didn’t want to go any further,  so we left him at the top of the pass and headed down about 10 km more. On the way back we went through the city of Da Nang. It has a beautiful coastline, some cool bridges especially at night all lit up and even a few skyscrapers. Very new looking city. I was thinking I could spend a few days here.

Da Nang beach with giant Buddha in back.

Da Nang beach and coastline.

Dragon Bridge, Da Nang . Vietnam

Pagoda and temple Da Nang.

We got back to Hoi An at sunset as all of us had various types of tailored clothing to collect. You can get suits, dresses, shoes, belts and bags all handmade here and reasonable prices.
I have a few weddings to attend next summer so the 2 suits I bought will come in handy, bought 1 in Bangkok also. I was supposed to fly to Da Lat further south the following day but didn’t book until suit was ready and it had doubled in price so I decided I’d go to Da Nang for a few chill out days instead and do Da Lat later in the week. I booked a room for 3 night in a hotel. My bike taxi took 2 hrs to find the place.  I kept telling him he was going the wrong way, food thing you negotiate the price beforehand. Eventually found it got settled in and situated. I had passed the beach I thought the hotel said it was beside on the way there so I rented a moped to take me back there. By the time I got there after the taxi ordeal and renting the moped the sun was almost down. Almost felt like a day wasted but it rained for the next 2 days straight anyway so no luck with the beaches. That evening I went for food and met an English couple so went for a few scoops with them. I decided to leave the moped behind. When I went back to get it it was nowhere to be found. Panic stations set in, this is going to be a disaster.  I walked a few blocks down looking for it and met a lady with broken English, I asked her about my bike she thought I needed a ride somewhere but after a minute of explaining she got it and brought me to the bar I had left it went in back talked to someone and brought me in abck. There she was thank god, albeit no helmet but who cares. Then the security guy showed up looking for overnight tickets, I explained they never gave me 1.so he wanted documentation for the bike so back to the hotel called the rental company, he shows up we go over there again and 2 minutes after chatting bike is in my possession and no charge for helmet. Lucky boy. Only I seem to get in these type of situations all the time. As I said it rained for 2 days so I was barely able to leave the hotel after that.
I did meet a French guy who lives there and was telling him I couldn’t get what I wanted to rat as all the menus were in Vietnamese and not many spoke English around there which makes the experience I guess, but doesn’t help the tourist industry there, maybe that’s the goal. But any how he sent me to a place where the owner had lived in the US, so off I went there when it stopped for an hour or so in the evening.  The owner wasn’t there but they politely called him and the order was completed how convenient and nice of them to call him at 11 pm. Good Craic all the same and food was great. I didn’t do much else. On the day of my departure the sun came out of course.
Da Lat is a mountain town in the south built by the French to get away from the heat of Saigon about 6 hours away. It has coffee and wine growing there. The coffee is top notch and the wine is not bad for the price. I was there only for the absailing, the Dutch guy I had met in Hanoi said this was the best experience he had been to in Vietnam so I had to go.
When I landed in Da Lat it was pissing rain again. I thought I had been to an end of rainy season in Laos a month ago.lol.
I stayed at a place called Mr Peace. The owners actual name 26 yr old dude with wife and kid. I booked the absailing with him as well his buddy does the guiding for it. Mr Peace’s place usually does a home cooked meal every evening but we didn’t have enough so we went out owners, baby and all.cool living like the locals.
The following morning we were picked up. It was finally a nice day. There were 5 Swedes, 2 Brits, 2 Canadiens and me. We were given life vests and helmets, ” safety first” some shoes and a 20 min training session and away we went. Right away we did a drop down a rock face.  It was dodgy enough I thought going down it right away but all made it down with some slips. There was trekking, swimming, cliff jumping involved as well a dropping down waterfalls.  The third drop was a 25 metres about 80 feet behemoth with water rushing over the side. You can’t hear anything and can hardly breath with the amount of water, but deadly craic.  You jump backwards into the water the last 5 metres but I missed that part and fell in so back up I went and waited for everyone to go and went again to get it right. What a rush, most of the girls in the group didn’t do the last 1 after that. We did a 11 m jump but that wasn’t bad, we used to do 1 at the beach in my hometown of Killybegs, Ireland that took you about an hr to get the balls to do it and the water is freezing too. The last absailing was called the “Washing Machine”. Drop down about 10 m and the cliff face falls away then you have to lower yourself in to the washing machine until rope ends. You get thrown about pretty good but no damage. Sadly that was the day over.

Me absailing in Da Lat.

We had the family dinner that night about 16 of us. Was a cool experience.
   I took the night sleeper bus to Saigon again not ideal for us westerners. We landed about 2 hrs early somehow a first in Asia to be early or on time.  I had been dropped off in the backpacker area which helped but no hostels would be open until 7 am at the earliest but I met a security guard who brought me to a hotel and paid for the night. I later found out I had paid his commission also. But more about that later. I slept a few hours got up and booked a trip to Cu Chi where some of the Viet Cong tunnels are, the ones used to fight the Americans.  On my way back I met a travel agent outside my hotel, by the way everyone is a travel agent in Southeast Asia, just depends on how much commission you pay if you get a good price. He handed me a leaflet of all activities to do in Saigon and their prices for each. I see 2 prices for Chu Ci,1 for the bus and another for entrance fee. I figured I had been conned as I had paid more than the 2 prices combined for my bus, bastard’s I was gonna let them have it. The only advantage of booking at your hostel/hotel is they come pick you up there. This was the 3rd or 4th time I had been blatantly ripped off and I wasn’t happy all day, didn’t help I rubbed chilli in my eye to make matters worse.
It took 2 hrs to drive 70km traffic is bad here. It was a sticky ride as AC wasn’t working properly and everyone was complaining of the heat. But what do you do? The tunnels and traps that they used were impressive, I have to say they were willing and able little fucker’s to do what they did. It was a little weird to see how proud and happy they were to have killed and defeated the Americans.  I never mentioned I live there for the fear.

A trap with some pointy bits to welcome you.

A B52 bomb crater in the back.

An American tank that had been recovered.

1 of the tunnels used. We went down 1 also, scary stuff.

There was an opportunity to shoot an AK 47 but I planned to do that in Cambodia.  I hear in Cambodia you can shoot a cow with a rocket launcher, sickos.  Why do that when you could eat it.
Lol.
When I got back I was going to let the lady have it but she calmed me down explained that the girl earlier was new and that owner who is Korean charges his own people these extortionate prices and that I was the first westerner in the hotel for some time and that she would of sent me somewhere else to buy the ticket. The Koreans come here on vacation thinking they are getting a good deal but being ripped off by their
own man. I told her I wanted to write a review on TripAdvisor but I decided not to in case it might impact her job.
I went out to watch the Man Utd Chelsea game that evening, it was a late night as the game didn’t start until 11 pm with the clocks going back. The following day I was headed for Phnom Phen the capital of Cambodia and that’s whe r e the next blog will pick up.
All in all I have mixed feelings about Vietnam,  I had some great things in Sapa and Hoi An and Da Lat. But the feeling of constantly getting ripped off has left a sour taste in my mouth, and you can get better Vietnamese food in the states. If I come back I would do it different for sure and get a motorbike to ride north to south and be in control of things from that stand point I also didn’t have enough time here to get to everything.
Well by for now hope you are enjoying the blog.
Gull.

Northern Vietnam, Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay.

Sorry there has been no posts the last 2 weeks. No wifi good enough to upload blog and I had it done yesterday and the app crashed and I lost 2 hours of writing.
I arrived in Hanoi the capital on the 13th of October. I flew as the bus takes 30 hours and I hear it is not a pleasant trip and I didn’t fancy that.
I grabbed the first hostel once off the airport shuttle. Hanoi’s street’s are very narrow and everyone has a motorbikes, so it’s extremely chaotic and there is no right of way for pedestrians, they will just run you over. I met a Dutch guy named Rick who had been in Vietnam for 3 months and had been to all the spots. So we talked for an hour and my plans had changed immediately.  Rule number 1 of backpacking don’t plan too far in advance. He recommended heading North to Sapa close to the Chinese border for a 2 day trek in the mountains with a homestay with the Hmong locals. So I booked that with my trip to Halong Bay for $106 a good deal as meals are included.  It could be done be done a littlest cheaper with enough research but I didn’t have the time.
The following day I hired a taxi bike for around $7 to take me to the museums in Hanoi. I went to Art and Literature, war museum but was closed for their version of the Spanish siesta. The Ho Chi Minh museum and his musaleum I went to next.

War museum, Hanoi

Catholic Church, Hanoi.

President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum

President Ho Chi Minh’s Testament.

Afterwards I went for a walk around the old quarter and lake, Hanoi has got very bad smog with all the bikes about 4 million they say, but the streets and it’s vendors are a sight to see. I recommend eating in restaurants in Hanoi it’s a little a more expensive but the street food is as good here as say Thailand although they do have great Pho.
I took the sleeper bus to Sapa that evening for the 2 day trek.
Our Hmong guide Liam, the second Liam guide I’ve had here and both women, weird was there to greet us. There were 11 people in our group and we asked not to bring us on the usual tourist route as its paved roads and has vans driving on it. So she brought us completely off the beaten track and had views of both sides of Sapa and it’s many rice field terraces. Unfortunately the fog diminished the spectacular view on the photos but they are nice all the same even ran into some unusual plants.lol

Sapa and the rice terraces.

Liam our Hmong guide.

The unusual plants. Oh they are Marijuana. Lol

We stopped for lunch and quickly found out why we had an entourage of Hmong ladies with us. Out came the handmade items, bags, purses, bracelets etc and the constant harassment to buy something. I can understand their plight they hardly have a pot to piss in, but it’s annoying when you are trying to eat rice with chopsticks.
We arrived at the homestay around 4pm. The fridge was stocked with beer how convenient. So the cards came and asshole was the game. The homestay mother cooked everyone dinner and rice wine was passed around to wash down the food. Not the best stuff but you can’t be rude. After that we headed down to a bar we had seen on the way. It was owned by another Dutchman and wacky dude he was. But the hot chocolate and wine was a welcome relief it is cold up here after all. All were in bed by 9.30 pm.

The homestay in Sapa.

The second day was more of the same but more spectacular views. The climb was fairly rigorous and some of the gang were complaining.  What did they expect on a mountain trek. Lazy bastard’s and that we’re in their early 20’s. We had 2 elderly Indian couple and not a peep out of them. Respect.

Day 2 of trekking.

That night I took the night train back to Hanoi which takes longer but has proper beds to sleep in and 8 hours sleep was badly needed and a 4 hour bus journey to Halong bay to follow after, did I mention the buses are shit here crushed in like sardines.
I went for a run around the lake when i got back and there were literally 1000’s of elderly people out stretching and doing Tai Chi it’s sort of like slow motion karate/stretch. I’m not sure of the advantages but they love it.
On the bus to Halong bay I decided to stay on the boat for the night. I paid an extra $55 but the guide said I should upgrade for around $100 I thought it was another scam so I declined. He was right though and we were left feeling disappointed as we didn’t get fed right. 3 slices of bread for breakfast and had to pay for the coffee. As you can imagine everyone couldn’t wait to get off the boat. It was like being at a wake. I met several people who took the deluxe boat and had buffet style meals “bastards” lol. Also some people got off the first day and onto Capa island and said that was great too. So those would be my suggestions. The scenery is nice but to many boats out there.

Halong bay.

I enjoyed my time in the North especially Sapa. It wasn’t even on my itinerary.  That’s the best part about not planning to far ahead you can changed your plans accordingly.  The homestay is the way to go. Hanoi is very chaotic but worth seeing.
Central and southern Vietnam next.
Sorry for the length in between posts again next one will be in a day or so.
Bye for now Gull.

Laos, And The mighty Mekong

After the cooking class in Chiang Mai I had to catch a minibus to the Laotian boarder in a town called Chiang Kong for the the 2 day slow boat down the Mekong river. I was told to give the ticket to the guy that picked me up which was mistake number 1 which I’ll get into later. We were crammed into the minibus about 15 of us with no room for our bags so had to sit on them and off we went, I was thinking what have I got myself into. It was supposed to be a 4 hour bus journey but took 6 hours. We arrived after midnight exhausted and I was told to get back on the bus by myself and go to a different guest house, nightmare off on my own in the middle of the night. It felt we were driving into the middle of nowhere and I wasn’t able to sleep a wink. Also no toilet paper, soap or towels, some guest house this was. I got up for breakfast early and met some other backpacker’s so they had similar situations so it felt alright again plus we were having breakfast right on the Mekong river how cool.

Breakfast on the Mekong.

We’re rushed off to give over the ticket which I had given to the guy that had picked me up in Chiang Mai, so after a few phone calls a new receipt was given and off we went Mexican style, 10 of us in the back of a pickup truck.
We got stamped out of Thailand and got the bus 1km to Laotian border which had to be paid for. Now everyone was getting pissed off as all this was supposed to be in the package. Another lesson everything has to be paid for in Asia. At the Laotian border it was a different price for each nation to get a visa. $35 for Ireland and USA $42 for Canada and free for Switzerland must be that they are hiding their money too. Corruption at its finest.
Then passports were giving back by nationality instead of first come first served even though I was first. Not looking like my day and when we thought that was the end of the hassle my new receipt was now no good and I wasn’t to be let through at least I wasn’t alone 2 Israeli girls were running into the same hassle.Things were getting messy. Not to worry an hour and a half later the manager let us on anyway don’t understand this mentality. Now they wanted us to hand over our passports to get our boat tickets, made no sense so I said no and got on amyway. Thank God the slow boat was awesome, maybe the authorities knew this and wanted to cause us unnecessary grief.Bastards, maybe we are not welcome in Laos but I never got that feeling and the people there are so chilled out its great. But the dollar talks and shit walks I guess. Having to pay extortionate prices to enter a country makes no sense to me.
I could do the slow boat over and over again.

Day 1
Slow Boat on the Mekong river.Laos.

But lesson learned don’t cheap out on anything in Southeast Asia as our first evening was spent at a riverside town called Pak Beng a mad place I must say, being offered all sorts of drugs at the dock, no participating for me just beer Lao thank you. But check out the pics.

Pak Beng, Laos

As I mentioned before don’t cheap out we pre  paid for a guest house and it was some shit hole, no toilet paper or soap again, concrete blocks for mattresses. The Asians love the hard mattresses for some reason. Myself and a few others headed out for dinner and a few beers and headed home early for what I thought would be a good night sleep. Alas it wasn’t to be a s there was a chicken coup outside the bedroom and it must have been attacked as the fucking roosters were cock a doodle dooing from 2 am till 7 am.  All you can do is laugh after all I’m on holiday so no worries. Breakfast on the Mekong will brighten your day anyway and check out the view.

Can you see Dumbo in the bottom right corner?
I got my own back on the no tp, soap etc. When I thought breakfast and our packed lunch was included, karma is a bitch I guess.
I headed down early to get a good seat which I did but the boat was now smaller and we thought everyone would not get on so the Laotian had to be moved down the back by the engine I felt bad but a gang of Irish had to do it the day before and said it was good craic, did I mention it was a drinking boat. Everyone got on and we set off for day 2, we were not gone 3 minutes and the boat broke down, out cm came a machete and hammer and after an hr we were away again crisis averted. What a mad few days it had been but the boat always made up for it.

Day 2 on the slow boat on the mighty Mekong, Laos.

Upon arrival in Luang Prabang it was already evening, so we got a hostel some food and some sleeping pills wasn’t taken any chances.lol. 12 hours later I awoke refreshed and headed to the local market for a smoothie and breakfast baguette for $2 not bad and this is a former French colony after all so bread is everywhere. I spent the day chilling out as I’d been on the go everyday for almost 5 weeks. Most of the gang headed to the waterfall which is the main highlight to do here but the town itself is class a mixture of old french buildings and temples.
We happened to arrive at the end of rainy season which is like lent here were the monks go into hibernation and come out when the rains end so there was a huge festival and parade that evening to celebrate. The locals build these boats and light them with candles very cool. Other buy swans or wreaths with candles and put them in the Mekong for good luck. It was definitely something special to witness.

1 of the boats for the parade.

I gave my swan to a little kid to put in the river for me, he was only to happy to oblige.

Of course we knew the locals wouldn’t be celebrating this Irish style so we helped them out and partied for 2 days.
I was glad to get out of there a day late I might add and headed to Vientiane the capital city on the Thai border. The road coming out of the mountains is treacherous to say the least but beautiful. I wasn’t able to get any good pics from the bus unfortunately.
Vientiane doesn’t really have much to do but has a lot of expatriates living there so the city is awash with great restaurants in most of the good hotels. I got a great 3 course meal for $12 but they get you on the wine but I had no Carmen to share a bottle with so I didn’t bother.
Laos scenery is absolutely amazing and Luang Prabang is the place to visit. Vang Vieng is another hotspot for backpacers as you can tube the river bar hoping but it’s very dangerous and many have died. The food is more expensive than Thailand but beer is cheaper. The slow boat will blow you away and worth it. As there are no trains you must bus it which I don’t recommend as everything is so far away but you can fly for cheap but miss the scenery . So choose wisely.
Next stop is Vietnam, can’t wait.
Bye for now Gull.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sorry I haven’t had a post in a while. Laos is not on my list of countries for Internet and the wifi here is not good.
I took a night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand which is a 14 hour journey. I’ve been using seat61.com to plan the trains and buses. It’s a website that has all the train schedules and is very detailed and up to date. I was only able to get an upper bunk but was about $4 cheaper than a lower bunk. The ticket was about $20 so pretty good and a nights accommodation saved also so happy days.
I arrived early in the morning and realized immediately that this was a better place than Bangkok., it is more cultured for sure.Bangkok is just chaotic. Upon arrival you can’t help but notice the jungle and mountains everywhere. I have been booking everything last minute as stuff arises. I was glad I did for the hostel owner was able to organise the slow boat down the Mekong river in Laos a day later but keep me on schedule and saved me a few dollars so I used the money to rent a moped. Most things here are quite far away so the moped came in really handy and it was so much fun.
I headed out to Mae Rim about 12km away to Tiger Kingdom, waterfalls and Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens and a King Cobra showing that had pictures of Sylvester Stallone from Rambo but I’m not so sure about that as everything seems to be some sort of scam here.  There is also quad biking and elephant riding but I only had time for the tigers, waterfall and the botanical garden.

Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai.

Waterfall.

Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens. Chiang Mai.
The following day I headed for the mountains and the temple there which is a 11 km trek uphill I seen a few boys cycling it lunatics. The views of Chiang Mai are amazing.

View of Chiang Mai.

Wat Doi Suthup Temple.
Chiang Mai.

I realized I was almost out of gas which reminded me of the time we were in the Mojave desert by the Grand Canyon and had no gas and it was late, finally we found a station that was closed but the lady re-opened to help us out much to the chagrin of the owner, bastard.
I had a different plan this time as it was all down hill so I free wheeled all the way to the bottom, some craic and a bit genius on my part I must say or not depending on how you look at it. The zoo is at the bottom of the hill so I went in as they had an aquarium it was only $10 to get in but you had to pay extra to see all the cool animals and it must of been 100 degrees and I was pissed off and left. I got to the moped and realized I had no keys disaster on the horizon. But lost and found said I had left it in the ignition, not so genius on my part, blessed though.
That evening I watched the Man Utd vs Everton game with a bunch of Thai Utd fans, good times.
As I had saved an extra day I took a Thai Cooking class. They picked 8 of us up at our hotels and brought us to the market to show us around and grab some homemade coconut milk and noodles they only things they don’t have on the farm. The farm was about 25 km outside Chiang Mai where all the ingredients are organically grown. We got to choose 6 dishes and I went with a coconut soup, yellow curry, sweet and sour chicken, pad thai and banana and coconut dessert. We muddled the cumin, coriander and chillis to make the curry paste and also made the sweet and sour from scratch quite the experience, check out the wok action below.

I think the cooking class has been the best experience so far and there have been many already.
There is so much stuff to do in Chiang Mai but I didn’t have enough time. Also Pai is not far away and I met a lot of people who said it was the coolest place in northern Thailand.  The night train I think is the best way to get here but some people took the private bus and said it was cool but no bed. I highly recommend renting a moped it less than $10 a day and gives you the freedom to go where you like. Next post is from  Laos and the amazing slow boat down the Mekong river.  Bye for now Gull.

Dubai Middle Eastern Madness

I Arrived early Wednesday morning in Dubai cleared immigration and jumped on the metro for Dubai Marina. My Friend Rory o’Loughlin who has just started working there had rented one of those residential hotels. What a spot and saved me a fortune on a hotel as I guess hotels and booze are the 2 most expensive things here although another friend said he got a hotel for around $100 a night so I’d look around.
But this place is right on the water and where you want to be in Dubai.
I had been indulging in too much food and alcohol in New York and Ireland and needed to get back on a exercise program before I got stuck in a rut so headed for a run. I really love the Dubai marina skyline, everything is so new and made the run very enjoyable. The streets are very clean and safe although going outside during the day is not enjoyable unless you enjoy dripping wet, humidity is a big factor with it being right on the coast. It gets up to 50 degrees Celsius here in summer but a cool 40 right now. That’s about 120 for the American followers.

Outside Rory’s apartment

Dubai Marina
We headed out for dinner at this place called Pachanga in the Hilton Dubai Marina. A grill house of middle eastern fare. The meat was brought to the table and carved there, delicious. We had lamb, ribeye, kabob and all the trimmings salad, potatoes, vegetables etc. It reminds me of Ri De Gado in San Diego on 4th ave.
Thursday the following day was spent nursing the hangover at home which is the equivalent of Friday night in the western world, loosers.
But there was good reason as Friday is brunch day in a lot of the hotels in Dubai. We headed north to the Double Decker brunch in the Al Marooj hotel near old Dubai. $50 all you can eat and drink until 4 pm but we stayed until 7. Talk about some madness going on. Smoking cigars, dancing and lots and lots of cider. Oh and the food was good too Pork Shoulder, Pork Belly , Roast Beef and the trimmings was already making a glutton out of meself.
We should of headed home then but decided to go to a karaoke bar.we ordered a drink and I went to the bathroom. When I arrived back Rory was already on stage singing Elvis’s suspicious minds, no better man and never shy to sing a song.
Rory then disappeared after he said he had got sick, things from there were a bit hazy for myself and I awoke in a Lexus ls limo, riding in style no other way.Only problem was that he said I was asleep 2 hrs and never gave him address so he just drove me around. But he was a good man and didn’t charge me much considering what his boss wanted me to pay. His famous words and all other taxi drivers in Dubai.”no problem boss” which I guess also came to Rory’s rescue on his trip home when the following afternoon Ahmed was calling to pick up his money from the previous nights fare. I can’t think of anywhere else I’ve been that this would of been ok. No problem boss my new favorite words. Some craic I must say we were laughing our ass’s off for about 5 minutes after that.
Rory and myself headed on a desert safari after the good laugh with a company called New York Tours.It was half the price of the other companies about $35 and got exactly the same experience as the other tours. We were picked up at the hotel and the driver almost smashed in to a taxi on the exit we knew then we had the correct lunatic for our sand dune racing. They were so mad at us that they were taking photos of the license plate and using slit throat signs toward us. I hope this driver is not in jail as the Uae doesn’t take kindly to misbehavior.
The dunes are about an hr outside the city and he asked us when we arrived were we ready, of course, we paid the bloody money ya fecking eejit, and so he took off it was great fun not as exhilarating as a roller coaster but much longer and with this guy we didn’t know what might happen to us. Too much fun.

Rory and I in the desert.

They have a small village that everyone is brought to and you can get quads, camel ride check us out.

We were still queasy from the previous evening’s exploits so passed on the quads and headed for the food , henna tattoos, sheesh smoking, belly dancing. The traditional food served was delicious chicken, lamb, fish, vegetable curry, potato salad, pasta salad and desserts . For 5 hours of fun $35 is not a bad deal.
My last day in Dubai I headed to for authentic food. My internet research brought me to Sadaf restaurant an Iranian restaurant. I ordered the traditional chela kabab which consists of chicken, veal, beef with pilaf rice and dates. It was worth the two hour return journey. I definitely would recommend this restaurant it’s located in Old Town Dubai.
Don’t miss out on Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Dubai Marina in the shopping mall there at Pier 7. Very nice place if you can afford it.

I really enjoyed Dubai. It’s like a brand new New York/Vegas place. I.e skyscrapers, places to party, 7 star hotels and the world’s tallest building and shopping mall, they don’t do anything small here.
I recommend using the Metro its very clean and cheap gets you to most places, but taxis at night time cannot be beat for the prices I wish I could say that for taxis in America even with Uber and Lyft.
I have added more pictures here. Enjoy
Bye for now Gull.

Real dinosaur inside Dubai mall.

Marine Zoo at the Dubai Mall.

Fountain Show at the mall.

Outside the Burj Kalifha.

Burj Kalifha world’s tallest building, hard to get in 1 photo.
My next destination was Bangkok, but I was sick for a few days there and will return after Cambodia so will do Bangkok segment then. Next post is from Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

Ireland part 2

Carmen arrived and we set about exploring Killybegs the great fishing town of Ireland and home to Donegal carpets which grace the floors of Buckingham Palace the White House and Aras an Uachtarain home to the president of Ireland to name a few.The carpet factory was our first stop which now only has one weaver left but used to employ close to 100 people. It is now home to the Heritage Centre which has video and tours of the of the carpet making and how the fishing industry began in Killybegs. It even has a simulator on steering boats into Killybegs harbor not that easy I must tell you neither was the weaving. We got one knot in about 2 mins the ladies back in the day would do 300 knots an hour. Peace work at its finest.
The next day mum brought us in to Teelin about 15 miles west of Killybegs where myself and foe me president of Ireland Mary Mc Aleese attended the Gaeltacht summer schools in Ireland to learn our Celtic language she obviously wasn’t having the craic I was as she became president which is mandatory that you speak fluently compared to me who hardly has a lick of Gaelic. I was more interested in the girls.
We took a boat trip instead of the 2 hour hike out to see Slieve League the steepest cliffs in Europe (1292 metres) sorry Cliffs of Moher you are not the tallest with this guy called Johnny Byrne tours appropriately named I must add. Now for those of you that have never been in through as us Killybegs ones call Kilcar, Carrick and Glencolmcille they tend to have a funny accent, rich coming from me lol. And this guy was no different he even wanted us to jump in for a swim, said he would follow but couldn’t swim I wasn’t in the mood for lifeguard duties with Carmen not able to swim either plus the water is so cold it would freeze the balls off a brass monkey as we would say in Ireland. Check these stunning pictures of Slieve League

Mum and I, safety first.
We headed to Glencolmcille after that for a tour of an Irish village with house’s from the 1700’s, 1800’s and 1900’s amazing to see how simple people used to live.
From there we headed to Connemara in Co.Galway and visited Kylemore Abbey which was a boarding school run by nuns on how to become lady like.Bunch of crap one friend whose sisters went there told me they were allowed to go skinny dipping in the lake. Every teenager boy or possibly girl’s wet dream pity it’s in the middle of nowhere.
It’s quite the spectacle though and used to be self sufficient which is now a business enterprise for the American to get roped into and the paddy’s too I might add.

Clifden was next, a beautiful town on the Atlantic Coast worth the drive and  on into Galway City for the night. We headed for Quay street in the City Centre and had many Guinness in Murphy’s, Naughton’s, The Quay’s and The Front Door all within 1 minute walking of each other. Can’t remember much of the evening but we danced a lot. Unfortunately we missed out on McDonagh’s fish and chip shop a must if in Galway but the hangover got the best of us.
The final destination in Ireland was Dublin to go see the Gaa All Ireland senior and minor (under 18) finals between my own county Donegal and Kerry the powerhouse of football in Ireland. In the end our teams were beaten well.Congrats to Kerry on their victories, I’m glad I don’t have to stick around Donegal it was like being at a wake the following morning.  Just a game they say. Bs life and death I say.
The venue Croke Park is some place it holds 83000 people the world’s largest amateur sporting stadium.

Croke Park. Co.Dublin

Carmen and I.
All in all this was the most touristy is that a word lol I’ve done in Ireland but was definitely worth it. I think a car is the best way to go not that the buses are bad just take along time and you go when they do. I did see car sales shops have cars for €30 a day with insurance plus tax which is not bad, better than the big companies.
I found the quality of food in Ireland is of a high standard contrary to reports from people so enjoy.
Sorry this post is so long but I have to get Dubai done next and I’m already in Bangkok which is another story entirely.
Bye for now Gull.

Ireland the emerald isle

I pick up here in Ireland after 19 long and enjoyable days of Craic, ceol agus bia, the Irish words for fun, music and food.
My trip began with a cousin’s wedding in Co . Galway. The service was in Spiddal a few miles outside Galway city which is in an area called an gealteachta which is where the Irish native tongue is spoken. It was back in to the city for the reception was typical Irish, lots of drinking, music, singing and a really good band. I have to say the food was excellent contrary to what a lot of my American friends had previously said to me. Sea bass and fillet of beef was on fare I even had seconds. And amazingly when you have had a few you are hungry again and they had a fish and chip stall set up for the wedding absolutely class and what a good idea.
Around 2 am you know that time when they say nothing good happens one of the aunts rounded up the family musicians and the songs went on until 6 . 30 am when we were informed there would be no more drink.Oh Irish weddings you can’t beat them.
A few days later I traveled to the north of Ireland Co.Antrim to see the Giants Causeway for the first time giving I had grown up only 2 hours away.
The fairytale version of events sounds a lot better and more believable once you see the amount of evidence to support the story but the geologists have different view on events. The place is absolutely spectacular and should be visited by everyone travelling to Ireland.  It’s the nicest place I’ve been to in Ireland. The views across to Donegal cannot be beat. I must say though the weather was the best I’ve seen in Ireland so that helped.
Unfortunately for the locals there they don’t get much business of the Causeway even though 35-40 bus loads of people and cars come to see it everyday. There is however the Bushmills distillery in the village but unfortunately we were to late getting out so had to settle for a pint of Ireland’s finest at the causeway hotel.

View from the Causeway hotel.

Giants Causeway
The following day we headed for Glenveigh National park about 10 miles outside Letterkenny Co. Donegal’s largest town. It’s one of only 6 national parks in Ireland. And luckily we got another beautiful day and this was our first sight there.

Inside the tourist office is a tour of the animals and bird that live and roamed lived in the park. I was amazed to see Elk and eagles I only thought existed in No America.
We took a small bus out to the castle for €2 it’s a thirty minute walk but we had my 4 yr old niece and my mother along with us so it wasn’t an option.
It must of been nice to have lived there once upon a time, swimming pool, lake, lush gardens and hills to hike or horseback ride.

Glenveigh Castle

Glenveigh Castle

I spent the rest of the week at home in Killybegs. I trained b with my old Gaelic Football team and even managed a game against  a team from north Donegal. Only got 15 mins but put a score on the board and won a few balls. I still have it . lol
I will post Ireland part 2 in a day or two when  my girlfriend Carmen arrived to see our great country and meet the family.
Slan. Bye for now.